Monthly Archives: April 2013

I BELIEVE IN NASHVILLE

In the words of Alan Jackson, “I’ve gone country!” or I’ve gone yogi. Actually, a little of both. One way or another, this Seattle girl is movin’ to Nashville to be around my most favorite music and to spend more time “on my mat,” as they say in yoga. I’m coming to open a yoga studio, and it’s gonna be HOT, the yoga studio, that is. I’m nearing the end of my 200-Hour Teacher Certification training, which has taken place in Nashville. Now I’ve decided that I’ll go ahead and open a studio to offer Bikram-style hot yoga classes, as well as Vinyasa Flow. We’ll get into why everyone should do more yoga and all the amazing benefits of hot yoga at a later date. This here blog entry is about how I got here.

It all started about 2 years ago, the very first time I came to Nashville. The moment I stepped onto Broadway and into my first Nashville Honky Tonk, it was love at first sight. It was 11 on a Sunday morning, and I was looking to kill some time. Thinking there wouldn’t be any Honky Tonks open so early on a Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to hear music coming from every bar on the strip, and found that one after another, each bar was filled of the best musicians I had ever heard! So I guess that was the start of the dream, and every visit to Nashville since then has been filled with so much great music and inspiring musicians that it makes my heart want to explode a little but also made me want to be part of it. It felt like home even before I realized what that feeling was, and most significantly, everyone welcomed me with open arms. It seems like everywhere I go in Nashville, I meet the friendliest people, and every encounter seems to be pre-destined. But my story is not all that unique. Everyone in Nashville seems to have a story like this. This great city has wooed every one of us and drawn us to be with her.

It wasn’t the hardest decision I’ve ever made It might just be the hardest decision I’ve ever made. It took a bit of courage to think I could do it and even more to tell other people that I was going to do it. There is a lot that I’m leaving behind but I guess the point is that I’m not leaving anything behind that I can’t come back to or keep in my heart in the meantime. As many people have told me along the way, “nothing worthwhile is easy.”

It came down to this: I HAVE to do it. East Nashville needs a Hot Yoga studio, and I’m excited to take this chance. Owning a yoga studio has been a dream for years, and this is the perfect time to do it. When I consulted my most wise friend about this crazy Nashville yoga idea, I complained to her that it was very risky and scary. She simply said, “If anyone can do it, it’s you.” I didn’t argue with her or feign modesty. I knew she was right. So here I am. Maybe it wasn’t by choice at all. It’s undeniable, I believe in Nashville.